Resume submissions from friends and colleagues

I'm a software engineer working at a small company in the US.  I've recently received unsolicited resumes from a couple of friends and former colleagues who are currently unemployed.  Naturally, I want to help these people out any way I can, but I only like to refer people that I think will be a really good fit for the company, are excellent engineers, etc.  I think that a referral reflects on the "referrer" to some degree, so I don't want to refer someone unless I actually believe he/she is an excellent candidate.  In general, I've been burnt so many times by HR never getting back to one of my referrals that I rarely refer someone even when I DO think they're top-notch.

How does one tactfully handle this?  I can see a number of ways to handle this.  I could submit the resume, but let my hiring manager know that I don't think the candidate is particularly amazing, but leave the decision up to the manager (I think this is pretty odd).  Or I could tell the candidate what my philosophy is, but that seems needlessly cruel and would run the risk of offending someone.  Or I could just tell the candidate that it doesn't look like my company is hiring right now.

I'm not crazy about any of these, so I'm curious to hear what other people think.

Mr. Nobody
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Tosses resume in wastebasket...

"Hey I talked with my boss the other day and gave him your resume.  It may be a while before he gets to yours because I saw he had a big stack of the them to get through so be patient and don't refuse any other offers."

5v3n
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

I usually pass along the resume, and the truth if I think they would be a good fit.  If I don't think they would be a good fit, then I usually refrain from comment and tell the hiring manager that I promised to pass the resume along, but that I wouldn't be hurt if they weren't hired.

No need for hand wringing and there's always a chance that they might be a good fit somewhere you don't know about.

Steve Barbour
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

If you are a good friend you would be honest with them and tell them straight that you will pass along the resume but you do not think their skills match the job requirements. 

If your friends are smart they will take the hint and apply somewhere else and if they don't atleast they will not be disappointed with you since you were upfront with them about their chances and your opinion will be more valued since they now you are a straight-shooter

And frankly I have seen that most HR guys do not give a damn about resumes coming from Engineering  grunts since there are so many of those nowadays.

Code Monkey
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

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